Authors note:
Buffy's POV.
A few lines in this chapter are taken directly from episodes of BTVS. No copyright infringement is intended.
The library is so boring right now. I can't help it. All I can think of is him. I can't concentrate on the task at hand, which is helping Willow with the research thing. The net is not my strongest point.
Halloween is fast approaching, and I want to do something special. It's the one night in the year when the slayer actually has any time off. According to Giles, the uberbaddies think it's "undignified" to stoop to cliché level and attack anyone on that night. Fine by me. I don't get too many chances to take advantage of no chaos.
I sigh, sink my chin into my hand, and close my eyes. Wills doesn't need my help anyway. I'd only slow her down.
"Buffy? You okay?"
Her voice surprises me, and I open my eyes guiltily, answering her quickly. "What? Yes! I don't know Willow, what does a million gigabytes have to do with monsters?"
Willow just shakes her head. "Buffy, you weren't listening." I try to dissuade her. "No, no, I was. I was just…imagining what a million gigabytes look like. It's kind of hard to do with your eyes open, you know?"
"Uh huh. And would these million gigabytes be a tall and darkly handsome someone with a dental challenge?"
I drop my head to my arms, and moan. "Oh, Wills, I'm sorry. I can't stop. It's like he's everywhere even when he's not around. I can almost feel him. It's creepy, in a I'm not sure I really care cause you're so hot kinda way."
Willow laughs. "It's okay, Buffy. It's not like you're a member of the net squad anyway. I can find a list of vampire activity on past Halloween's on my own, thanks."
I turn my head toward her, still resting on my forearms. "I really don't know why Giles has you doing this. It's history, you know. The freaks don't come out at night on Halloween. It's a known fact. The one night the slayer actually gets some time off, and gets to have some normal girly like fun. Like what costume I should wear."
"Oooh, have you picked out something? Something sexy for Angel to go all ga ga over?"
"Willow!" I say, shocked that she's said something so forward. She blushes, then shrugs. "Well, have you?"
"I'm not sure yet. I mean, I'm already kind of a superhero in real life anyway, so what kind of costume is left? A doctor? A cat? A piece of fruit?" I frown in frustration. I had so hoped that Angel would have said something about Halloween, about us doing something besides making out in the cemetary or on my windowsill. Not that I'm complaining about it.
And speaking of, where is he? It's been dark for about thirty minutes now, and he's not here yet. And I am so not telling Giles about my weird princess dream without Angel here to back me up.
"Buffy, Willow, any luck?" The aforementioned watcher enters the room, carrying with him his ever present cup of tea.
"Nada, Giles, sorry. I'm not sure why you're even having us do this anyway; you know the vamps are traditionally quiet on Halloween."
He eyes me with some chagrin. "I want to be prepared for any situation, Buffy. You should be as well."
He returns to his office, mumbling something about slayers and their lack of 'buckling down' interest. I don't think I've ever heard him say 'buckling down' before. California must be rubbing off on him.
"What are you doing?"
Willow and I yelp, she grabbing her laptop, and me whirling to face the door, stake in hand.
"Don't. Do. That. Again. Sheesh! How did you sneak up on us, anyway?"
"I wasn't trying to. You both looked busy with your computer, and I didn't want to interrupt…sorry if I scared you."
I walk to him, and and stop a millimeter from his chest. "It's okay, Angel. I was wondering if you were gonna show."
He smiles that lopsided smile that makes my stomach do that weird quiver thing, and replies.
"Sorry. Ran into some vamp action on the way over. It's taken care of."
I notice he has some dust on his shoulder, and I laugh as I pick a leaf out of his hair. "You're picking up my bad grooming habits."
"You look fine, Buffy," he tells me, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone that's actually that sincere before. I smile at him, and shyly stand on tiptoe to press a quick kiss to his cool lips. His eyes shut, and he smiles against my mouth, and I glow.
Someone clears their throat, and I awkwardly back away from Angel, and face Giles.
"Angel. How are you?" he asks politely, and I'm pleased he's being nice. I know it wiggs him something fierce that I am dating a vampire. Hell, it wiggs me too. But when I see Angel's face, the wiggs go away, and the happies come instead. So that's alright by me.
"I'm good. Thank you for asking," Angel says, and starts to say something else. He looks at me, raising his eyebrows. I shake my head slightly, and Angel again faces Giles, saying, "Giles, Buffy has something she needs to tell you."
"Oh?" he says, tilting his head downward, glasses sliding to the end of his nose. "…and that would be?"
Eeeeek. He looks like every angry teacher I've ever had. I open my mouth, and nothing comes out but a squeak. I swallow, and try again.
"Maybe we should sit down," I say, and take Angel's hand and lead him over to the table. Willow has shut her laptop, all pretense of working now abandoned.
Giles follows us, his hackles obviously up. "Buffy, what's going on? Has something happened? Are you ill?"
"No,no Giles. Nothing like that. I just…well, I've been having these dreams…"
"And you say you've had the same dream now? Only the once?" he asks again, cleaning his glasses for the umpteenth time. I'm surprised the lenses haven't collapsed into sand particles by now.
"Yes, Giles, only the once. But don't you think that's kind of oogy anyway?"
"Oogy?" he says, completely perplexed.
"Yeah. Creepy. As in weird. As in, what the hell. As in, slayers and vampires should not be sharing the same dream. Well, except for that one time…in LA…with Lothos…" I trail off, not wanting to relive that part of my past. Thinking about that stuff always got me to thinking about my first Watcher, Merrick, and how I lost him.
Not gonna go there right now.
"Lothos?" Angel asks, frowning now. "Wasn't he a Master Vampire-"
"Yes, and we can all rest easy now cause he's dead," I interject, and wave at Giles. "So, Watcher man, what d'you think? What does it mean? Should we be be preparing for an apocalypse? Rain of toads? Or rain of shoes? Ooh, that would be cool," I say, and Angel elbows me. I stifle a giggle.
"I'm not sure, Buffy. I don't believe I've ever read of anything like this at all before. Granted, not many slayers had vampires as friends. I'll have to do some research on the subject of shared dreams…and this did feel like a prophecy dream to you?"
"Just like the ones with the Master," I say quietly, and Angel touches my hand, reassuring.
"And all you remember is a large black cloud, and a rain of what appeared to be blood?"
"Don't forget the part where Angel burst into flame," I say suddenly, most definitely not wanting Giles to forget that. That part is the one that bothers me the most.
"Don't worry about that, Buffy," Angel says, "…it was more of a vortex than a cloud, at least that's the way it looked to me. And it was assuredly blood."
Giles squints his eyes at Angel. "How can you be sure? It could have been almost anything, being a dreamscape…"
"I could smell it."
"Ah," Giles says, and I can tell he's a little grossed out. To tell the truth, I am kinda too.
"Well, I will contact the council, and make sure nothing like this has never occurred before that we are aware of. I'll ring you later tonight when I've heard, Buffy."
I stand, stretching, thankful he's letting us off the research hook for one night.
"Sounds like a plan, G man," I say, and I can see him cringe slightly when I call him by Xander's favorite nickname for him.
"Please, Buffy, for the love of my sanity, do not call me that."
I snicker behind my hand, turning it into a cough when Giles frowns at me. "Yes, Sir."
I turn toward the exit. "Wanna get in a few good hours of patrol?" I ask Angel, and he nods. "Lead on."
"Willow, call me?" I say, my hand to my ear, in the universal gesture for telephone, as I walk toward the door backward, Angel at my side.
"I will," she says, and mouths, "Costume!"
I blush and wave my hand at her, and follow Angel out of the swinging library doors.
"Ah," I sigh as I shimmy up the tall Oak to my window, "Home sweet tree."
I slide silently inside the room, Angel having climbed up the tree behind me. Although it does piss me off slightly he can do it faster and quieter than I can. Stupid vampire preternatural skills.
"That was a productive evening," he states, sitting on the edge of the windowsill, staring out at the street, still watching for bad guys. He's hypervigilant, that one.
Good thing one of us is right now; I'm about feeling like the walking dead. No pun intended.
I slump back onto my bed, and pull off my new black boots, so cute yet oh so blistery when they're new.
"I've about had it, Angel. I'm gonna have to call it a night. I guess I can do my homework at school tomorrow, right? That means I only have to skip…lessee…three classes," I moan, and cradle my head in my hands.
He laughs softly. "You'll do okay."
"Maybe…if okay means passing a third of my classes versus none."
"Buffy," he says, getting up and coming over to the bed to sit next to me, "You have a lot going on right now. Things will work out, I promise. And besides, if you need help with your homework, don't forget you have a living history book to rely on."
I crack a smile. Holy cow, he made a joke.
"Wow, call Guinness. The world's most serious vampire just made a funny," I quip, and he smiles a little, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm a funny guy."
I snort with laughter, and then he does too.
"Oh, boy. Thanks, I needed that," I tell him, wiping my eyes. He shakes his head, still chuckling softly.
"Don't mention it. Seriously," he says, and there's the flash of his white teeth against the darkness of the room again.
I just shake my head as well, and meet his eyes.
Suddenly, all humor and sillyness is gone from my mind.
He's thisclose, and before I know it, I'm leaning toward him, my hand coming up to cup his cheek.
He places his own hand over mine, the coolness penetrating the overheatedness of my post slayage skin.
"Angel, I…"
"Shhhhhh," he says, and pulls me to him.
"But the dreams…" I try again, and he puts a finger to my mouth, silencing me.
"Later," he whispers, and as his lips touch mine, I forget about the next question I had lined up.
A good half hour and many soft words and kisses later, I wave at him from my window as he heads down the street, dawn still a few hours away.
I am struck suddenly by the eerie sameness of this position; how I had seen him in my dream from this very situation, atop a high place, and him below me, looking up.
Of course now there's a lot less screaming, and a lot less blood falling from the sky.
I shudder slightly, and turn back to my room. Really time to hit the hay.
I change into my pjs, and slide under the covers, my lips still tingling from his touch, and my hair still askew from his fingers.
I don't care how odd Giles, or the Council, or anyone thinks it is that I am involved with a vampire.
He's the one freaky thing in my freaky life that makes any kind of sense right now.
I'll have to be sure and tell him that.
I slip into sleepy oblivion, and right before I go completely under, I hear his voice in my head.
I'd go to hell and back for a chance to walk in your footprints.
TBC.
